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Phase 0 · Feasibility · Step 0.1

Confirm zoning, height limit, and FAR for your lot

Look up your lot in SDCI's GIS portal and read the height, lot coverage, and FAR rules for the zone — that's how you find out whether a second story actually fits before you spend a dollar.

Who
Homeowner
How long
1-2 days
Cost
Free
You end up with
Zoning summary screenshot + height/FAR/coverage numbers for your lot

If you skip this: A surprising number of Seattle lots are right at their height or FAR cap already. Check this first and you'll know in an afternoon whether the addition is a real option or whether you're looking at a ground-floor remodel instead.

Start here

Seattle's zoning code controls three numbers that decide whether a second story fits: height limit, floor-area ratio (FAR), and lot coverage. All three are public, all three are tied to your specific zone, and all three are looked up in the same place.

How to do it

  1. Open SDCI's Research a Project, Permit, or Property page and follow the link to the GIS property lookup.
  2. Enter your address.
  3. Note the zone designation (most Craftsman lots are Neighborhood Residential — NR — under the One Seattle Plan rules that took effect 2026-01-21).
  4. Open SMC 23.44 and look up the dimensional rules for that zone.

What you're looking for

  • Height limit. NR zones are typically capped at 30 ft to the highest point, with pitched-roof allowances on top. A one-story bungalow at ~16 ft has comfortable headroom for a second story; a 1.5-story with a steep roof might not.
  • FAR. Total above-grade floor area divided by lot area, capped per zone. A 1,200 sq ft house on a 5,000 sq ft lot is at 0.24 — adding 800 sq ft brings it to 0.40. Most NR zones cap FAR around 0.5 with bonuses available.
  • Lot coverage. Footprint divided by lot area. A second story doesn't change footprint, so this number stays the same — but if you're also pushing out the ground floor, it matters.
  • Setbacks. Minimum front, side, and rear distances. A second story has to respect the same setbacks as the first floor unless you're using a "departure" or design review path.

What this tells you

  • All three numbers have headroom? A second story is feasible from a zoning standpoint. Move on to step 0.2.
  • You're already at FAR or height cap? A second-story addition isn't realistic without a variance. The realistic alternatives are a ground-floor remodel or a DADU instead — at which point the Seattle DADU workflow is the better project.

A quick note on the One Seattle Plan

Phase One of the One Seattle Plan took effect 2026-01-21 and folded the older NR1 / NR2 / NR3 designators into a single NR zone. Older blog posts and even some city documents still reference the old zones — trust the current GIS lookup, which reflects the post-2026 rules.

Where this information came from

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